The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-04-27

sits and bowls in secret.
The SIecter Of sichness attacked the house
holds and shook out the hidden spsetsrs IN
plain sight Shirley perceived constantly a
oarrenneSs Of the comnonest small comforts
lack even Of articles Of food that WIS 1air
faI TO her Il was the case alike among the
overworked farm wives and the Idle. gaidinc
village wives Poverty she herself knew. She
thought But it was that independent nov.
erty which has fertility OF resource. the nov.
erty which whets the edge Of struggle and
aspiration From this kind of poverty every.
thing that Is worth having in the world has
come.
But these womens The larger part Of the
small things which Shirley thought a civil
led human being regarded as necessities ot
life were 70 them unknown luxuries. In
such a hard, stupid poverty as this, what
hopes
Could nothing be done to help thenG Tn,
question haunted Shirley. Could they no,
somehow be put in the way Of helping them
selves, Verify there was little that they
might even hope for. An unframed grown
woman in Z village can do nothing to get
money Although there was among then
lack OF 50 many OF the small things that make
lie desirable, yea, absolute want now and
then, these women had no lack of time on
their hands II was the habit OF many oi
them, women and girls. to sit and gaze itsy
out the window. hour after hour. 1 Uttlt
spasmodic, intermittent effort finished th,
small work they were obliged 20 do. For th,
rest, nothing They bad no KNOWLEDGE OF
anything better and no incentive to action
That was all there was In life for them They
had even 40 appreciation that il was a sin Il
waste time 50, Their idleness and poverty
brought with it a poverty of soul that wa.
most hopeless of all
1t was al tins period that public attention
was first being generally called to the beauti
tul silk weaving industry in this country
Shirley herself had visited the mills. and beer
delighted as anybody must be with the ex-
qulSite fabrics wrought there.
The workmen showed her the filmy, shining
threads from which the splendid fabrics We're
made. These had all to be brought over seas
they told her. 1t was certain the mulberry
tree could be reared here at home, and the
silk coCoons produced. The production Of
raw silk was an industry scarcely less beauti-
ful than that of weaving the threads. and ne
muuerative too. 1t was not done In America
simply because il was not done
One day. thinking OF the idle. Vet poverty
stricken women she knew, Shirley happened
TO recall what She had heard in the SILK mills.
She put the two together
Once more. processes are dull to outsiders.
Therefore again we skip them. There is
enough dullneSs in this world, Lord kuowsl
even after we get rid Of ali we can
No, we VIII have only results, for the pres
ent- The womens silk colony Of Lin
wood-behold-is it not known to every
intelligent person in the landf An intclli-
gent person is one who reads newspapers.
Shirley obtained all the information pos
sible. She planted her mulberry shoots, She
got her cocoons and learned how to take care
of them. Travellers on the now much FIRE
quented road past the stone house to the vii
lage turned TO watch again the noble figure
and bent head Of the woman who was 50 in
tenty busy IN the grounds Out there among
her silk trees she might well have been taken
for the reincarnation of the splendid empress
who first introduced silk culture among her
grateful people and thence gave 1t to the
world
Silk culture would have prospered in
America more than 200 years ago. only that
tobacco rooted it out il did not do so in
Linwood. Shirley experimental with her
mulberries and silk worms till she was sue
cessfuL She taught the secret to the neigh
Dor women. The new and graceful employ
ment spread among them. At length the
colony produced annually no inconsiderable
quantity of raw silk of an admirable quality.
The women and children did the work It
brought hundreds of dollars to the poor
stingy little neighborhood Weed patches
became mulberry gardens. In truth, there
was by and by not a weed left in that region.
Linwood became prosperous, handsome and
ambitious. Articles of taste, beauty and
comfort were added yearly to the humble
homes The hard, poverty stricken lives of
the women blossomed ont till they became
new creatures under the magic Of prosperity.
They learned how admirable thing it is for
a human being to earn his own money and
spend it as he pleases. They tasted the sweets
of independence
The village women sloughed off the idle
ness of their wasted lives In the round OF
healthy, happy, paid work they forgot the
idle talkee-talkee of other years. They out
grew the spite, the narrow feminine jeal-
ousies. They could no longer spend time
from money getting to indulge in these pc
culiar little amusements
Thers was another good result
The Gown became a general center Of inter
est. Foreigners visiting the country and
tourists from half over the continent came
there to see the women's ak colony. Whether
they looked at the handsome, tree embowered
village itself, with its clean, smooth streets
and tasteful homes, the novel, successful in
dustry that had contributed so greatly to its
prosperity, or at the well fed well dressed
girls and children-everything they saw was
interesting and pleasing. There came so many
that neat and roomy hotel had to be built
to accommodate them. 1t was kept by ouI
friend Mis- Simpkins. The march of improve
ment had trodden under foot the show win
dow with the box of blacking and two clothes
pins.
The numerous visitors 10 the silk colony
became a source of revenue to the village. Il
was suddenly discovered, too, by and by
that Linwood had exceptional advantages q,
a summer resort.
Nor yet was this all With the advent oi
good times came better food, lgentIer ways
and more happiness to Linwood homes. Tus
bands and sons who had been wont to spenC
their hours and their earnings too much away
from home, walked up gradually to find homt
had grown attractive before they were awarI
of it. There was music, there were book
and games in their own houses Of evenings
They also found pretty maidens and neat
cheerful nlatrons there They found them
selves exceedingly astouished to discover
remarkable fact-there was more fun a
home than anywhere else
The impulse Of the ordinary woman wht
earns money, is to use it first to adorn he1
person, next her home. Neither is this Z
wicked impulse. 1t is not even an unwhole
some one.
Liuwood women We're ordinary. They
were exceedingly ordinary Therefore theI
decorated first themselves, then their homes
u4f~stsTt4s r,srr,or- t}afy. ,ty-1,
and communication with minds outside 0
their own gave them, they, too, walked up Z
some important facts. They learned how ia
behind the day they were in their social ways
their housekeeping. They took to improve,
methods. There had been bitter Quarrelnj
and heartbuming, family rows, in short
in many Linwood household before, bccaus
of the undouhted preference Of the masculin
half Of the house for the grocery and run
| shop
Linwood mothers and daughters made nov
| the astounding discovery that wives and chill
dren who are neat, handsome and merry
| delicate food, pretty healthful homes, musi
and jolly yet harmless home amusement
have more attraction for men than even
rum shop. Wives and daughters have th
| inside track all the time with the averag
masculine animal, if they only had sens
enough to keep it.
Linwood had heard temperance lecture
since the time the noble red man gave u
| and surrendered TO the white man. Ye
here right under their noses, was a temper
ance lecture worth more than all the resi-
| How odd they had never thought Of it bt
| forei
So Linwood was Transformed, wholly an
| forever.
1t was in very truth Shirley who did al
| 1t was over again what George Morriso
| had read to her from the enchanted life c
/ Joan Of Arc:
slaughter of God, all things were unde